AGE of the CRUSADES

A Civ2 scenario by Phenix Earl Benton II
a.k.a. Exile


     The Crusades are remembered for their martial accomplishments, the victories and defeats. The names of Saladin and Richard the Lion-hearted are familiar, but how many recall the Byzantine Emperor Basil II Bulgaroctonus, who put out the eyes of 14,000 captive Bulgars? How many recall Zengi esh Shami, Emir of Mosul and conqueror of the empire eventually inherited by Saladin and his Ayyubid heirs? How many can speak of the Lion Hero, Alp Arslan, Sultan of the Seljuk Turks, and tell the story of his climb up the glistening stair of empire? And what of the stories of the men who fought in Iberia and sicily, Georgia and Apulia, and all along the coastlands of the western countries? The Crusades, as exciting as they were and have become, were only one facet of the unique historical mosaic that was the medieval Mediterranean. This scenario attempts to recreate that colorful and dynamic pattern of shifting nations, of rising and falling empires, and of the bustle heralding the rebirth of trade. 
     After half a millenium spent in a dark age, Europe finally emerged at the beginning of the eleventh century. For quite a few centuries, the political and eccesiastical lights in Europe had been buffeted repeatedly, threatening finally to go out. Yet as the year 1000 AD came, things improved. The agricultural potential of the north European plain was scarcely realized, and a period of warmer weather, and consequently longer growing seasons, assisted by new, more sturdy iron plowshares, created a population boom in the northwest of the continent. Over the next two centuries, the Franks and vikings would become the source for military manpower all across the oecumene. In Spain, Frankish knights swelled the ranks of the armies of Leon and Castile, and one of the foremost captains of the first crusade, Raymond of Toulouse, earned his reputation fighting there. Normans from the northwestern part of the Frankish realm carved out a border kingdom in southern Italy, fought the Byzantines off, and would soon expel the saracens from all of Sicily. Horsed warriors from France conquered Britain in 1066, fighting with scandinavian groups over the Aenglish crown. During the period, easterners referred to all western fighting men as "Franks." Norse, Dane, and Varangian raiders had struck repeatedly at the southern lands in the previous century, from Cadiz to Constantinople, but the attacks were coming less often after the turn of the millenium. The Italian city states grew from a collection of unremarkable small towns, none of which could boast 15,000 inhabitants, into hubs of maritime commerce and trade, dozens with populations in the tens of thousands. If northern Europe was exporting soldiers, Italy was exporting, and importing, anything that would pay. Northern Italy was situated near an abundance of timber, had a good coastline, and was experiencing the same population boom as in Scandinavia and the north European plain. People from the countryside streamed into the cities of Lombardy, Tuscany, and the Romagna. These cities dominated the carrying trade, the bulk trade, and the luxury trade in the medieval Mediterranean during their heyday. The only competitors they had were each other, and the banking houses in those cities rivalled and outbid the incomes of kings and nations. The Italians became the bankers for a continent. But while European populations grew, the times were turbulent for the lands of west Asia; Byzantine anatolia and the Arab levant. Wave after wave of Turkic invaders rode across the vast steppe from the unguessable east and overcame the nations that lay in their path. There were the Pechenegs and Khazars, Turks who had come in the first great migration in the 7th and 8th centuries, and there were the Cumans and Seljuks, both offshoots of the Ghuzz Turks, the former moving north, the latter moving south, of the Black Sea. The Turkic migrations continued as other Turkoman groups wandered and fought their way out of Asia and into the rich and fertile lands of the ancient civilizations. In the end there were the Mongols, the final empire builders, the horsebowmen of the broad steppe, who built the largest land empire the world has ever seen. These were fiery times, times of blood and battle, but also times of expansion and growth, learning and piety and trade. This era marked the emergence of a resurgent Europe, as it fought its way clear of the age of darkness and into the AGE of CRUSADES.

NOTES;

This scenario is unlike others that have preceded it, but it does perform the way that it is intended to perform. from our perspective, the view of modernity, medieval empires and nations were shaggy, cumbersome beasts, yet seemed to work well enough at the time. In this scenario, Each player position will receive a very few (no more than 1 at the start) real offensive military units. These are the "Host" units. These units represent the core of any medieval state's army. You may (and probably will) augment these host units with other, less powerful units to enhance the overall capability of your military, but these units will only be additions, and some of these additions will be acquired via events or by bribery. The main power of your military will always be the host unit(s). You MUST be careful with these units. If you lose them, your ability to expand virutally disappears, and your realm now lies very vulnerable to any agressive neighbor who has not lost their host unit(s). The AIs proved very adept at discerning and exploiting this kind of weakness, which makes it even more undesirable. You should be cautious with these units at first, until they become veterans. All of these units have an attack and defense of at least 10, so a veteran will increase these values considerably. Other than these very few units, which are delivered ONLY via events, any other military units that you can produce are VERY expensive. They will either take a long time to produce, or they will require a staggering amount of money to rush-buy. This is intended. In order to generate a sizable force in this scenario, it is necessary to set several cities building the military units. The units will either, after a VERY long time, appear, or you will find the need and the funds to rush-buy them, again, after a considerable length of time. This is intended to simulate the intense training and expense of these units, which were all heavy cavalry, and the recruiting phase, which takes into account that in premodern times, available manpower pools were seldom elastic. After a disastrous defeat in battle the resultant losses could not always or easily be made good. A major defeat often presaged the fall of an empire, as at Manzikert. In this scenario, you are given an army. If you use it well, you may receive one or two more. While the AI players are sure to miss them, the astute human player will soon realize the rewards that lay in the levant region of the map. As populations begin to rise, and even soar when and if you convert to the Feudal State [The Republic], "Happy" wonders begin to become very attractive. There are three situated close together in the Holy Land, at Edessa, Aleppo, and Jerusalem. This area gets cluttered because the Byzantines start the game in Antioch, the Fatamids hold Jerusalem, and the Seljuks appear after turn 50 in western Persia. When you take your feudal host into an adjacent kingdom, you should find peasants working and traders travelling, not random military units wandering the countryside. Most activity will be economic, as the civs attempt to generate funds through trade, and Trade goods [Caravans] are very cheap in comparison to military units. The terrain resource values have been altered. The mined hill terrain has been reduced to 1 shield and only increases defense by 50 %, while the forest terrain is also 1 shield and does NOT assist defense. Desert has NO resources, nor do the Oases. Desert and swamp terrains are much more difficult to traverse and halves defenders. The Mountain terrain is much more difficult to cross, doubles defense, and produces 1 shield IF mined. Some of the land special terrains are VERY much more productive than normal, or they are ephemeral. The barbarians are IN this scenario, and will be encountered by all civs, although, except where they are created by events, they do seem to focus on the human player in solo play. They were set to raging hordes in the initial setup routine and in the mid- and late-game the barbarians can appear in surprisingly large numbers. They come in two types. The first are the sea raiders; vikings and saracens. This first group is relatively harmless if your cities are well garrisoned. The second type are the Turkomans, who appear primarily in the open steppe areas and in the mountains and hills of the east. Some Turkomans are stronger than others and can take weakly-held cities. Also, there are several barbarian Turkoman units that appear the same, but have different combat values. There are also a good number of event-delivered barbarians that appear randomly in selected regions throughout the game, (unless you occupy their starting points.) There are a number of barbarian cities, in four main groups, just waiting to be attacked. The 2 smallest groups are the Burgundian cities of the Rhone valley and the Bulgarian Empire of the 10th century. The third group is the Omayyad domains in southern Spain, and the largest group is clearly the gathering of cities in Iraq, western Iran, and Armenia/Georgia. Historically, the Mesopotamian cities begin the period as the domain of the Buyid emirs. There is some exploration in the game, and the danger posed by fast-moving cavalry armies makes knowledge of the map worthwhile. And then there are the rumors of Prester John.

I. TECHNOLOGY

The overall technology paradigm is 6:1 in this scenario. It is 6 times more difficult to acquire tech. This scenario has a large and complex tech tree, and finding your way through it will require some familiarization. [Bridge building] has been renamed Construction, and several of the basic improvements are based on it. The barbarians, renamed Warriors, will occasionally annouce that they have gained a new tech. They have, but they will lose it almost immediately, so ignore these messages. The player civs start mostly with similar tech if they are the Europeans (Italians, Franks, Germans, Spanish) each with one or two techs the others don't have to both facilitate trading techs and to differentiate the civs. The Euros also have the Germanic Tech, which obsoletes the units of other civs and allows them to build the Feudal Horse unit. The Fatamids and Turks both start with Islam [Space Flight], which causes other civs to dislike them. The tree is composed of several main trunks which intertwine, some more than others. One of the trunks is the "peasant" branch. There are quite a few techs that are peasant or agrarian in nature. Although we revel in the legends of chivalry, the majority of people were digging dirt, not riding horses. Techs which assist the efforts of 97 % of a realm's population DO have a place in this scenario. Another trunk might be called the "trade" or nautical branch. The ability of a medieval realm to exert seapower also complemented its economy by protecting merchants, seizing enemy ships, and gathering knowledge from strange and ancient ports. There are several tricks done with techs in this scenario, and to reveal them here might ruin the fun and surprise of discovery, so no further discussion. 

II. UNITS

Although the technology progresses steadily in this scenario, there is very little change in the various military systems used by the combatants. The Europeans relied on intensively trained, expensive-to-maintain, yet very effective armored horse troops throughout the period, and, although we occasionally read of foot attacks that succeeded, these are often ruses and ploys used in the siege, rather than events on the field of battle. Everyone else utilized light horse troops, invariably armed with the bow. From the Berbers to the Mongols, the horsebowman was the common military system outside Europe. That said, the units in this scenario are very different than the default game, or most other scenarios. The AI, given sufficient resources, will fill the mapboard with units. But this style of play doesn't accurately simulate the military activity of the period. The states of the 10 and 11th centuries fielded a single primary army, a feudal "Host" or "Horde." This body of men represented the real strength of the state, and, if lost in battle, often proved impossible to replace. Empires grew or declined based on whether or not they had and maintained a powerful army. To simulate this, each player civ starts the scenario with a single "Host" unit. These units are VERY powerful. They cannot be built, but a scant few others can be gained by events. The European Host units are relatively uniform; they have 10 attack, 10 defense, 4 hit points, 2 firepower, and 5 movement. Generally, and more especially once they become veterans, these units will be able to conquer any city (unless defended by an enemy Host). The trick in this scenario is not conquest, but the strategic choice of WHERE to conquer and, once conquered, the question of how to occupy the gains. The buildable, non-siege units in the game are very few, Light Horse and Feudal Horse (only for Europeans), both are spectacularly expensive to build. There are reasons for the expense. First, I did NOT want the AIs to overproduce and this is one way to limit that. Secondly, I wanted the creation of military units in this game to be an ACTUAL long-term investment. No rush building units. Conquest won't be difficult, but holding on to what you've conquered will be, unless you've planned well, have significant wealth, and a bit of luck. The King Richard unit is also a host, but with a slightly higher attack and slightly lower movement value, delivered via an event. The Italian and King Richard units can also make amphibious attacks. The Templars and Hospitalars units, also acquired by events, are not as strong as the host units because they have only 3 hit points, but are valuable, and have special abilities. The majority of foot units in the game, with the exception of some of the barbarians, are unable to move and cannot be built, though they've been given attack factors to help quell civil unrest. The Europeans and Byzantines will each receive, via event, some foot units periodically. This was an age of CAVALRY, and the available units that can be built reflect this. There are two types of siege engines, which, if your host unit has been destroyed, can provide a civ with some offensive capability. There are two types, the Siege Tower and the more powerful Siege Engines. The siege units have relatively low numbers, but they ignore city walls. VERY occasionally, the player civs receive via event, a Great Traveller [Spy] unit, and a little more often, the Byzantine player receives an Emissary unit, which has the Diplomatic role. These units seldom appear, and they are intended, in the first instance, to simulate the several world travellers that we know about through their writings, from Ibn Batutta to Marco Polo, and the ability of the Byzantine state to recruit mercenaries and convert its enemies. The barbarians ARE bribeable, and sometimes it is advisable to do so to augment one's available force. In this kind of game, ANY new military units will be worth acquiring, and having a contingent of Pechenegs or Turkomans or especially AMPHIBIOUS vikings/varangians in your army can't hurt. The only trade unit in the scenario is the Trade Goods unit. It can pass through zones of control, can see 2 spaces and has a 5 movement. There are only a few naval units in the scenario and everyone except the Turks start with the basic Shipping unit, which can carry two other units, and has a movement of 6. Slightly better, especially in defense and dependability, are the Hulks, which can also carry units. All civs except the Turks, also start with Galleys, relatively slow and bad on the open sea, but these are superceded by the Warship, which is more seaworthy and powerful. The Galiot unit is faster than the Warship, but not as powerful. The strongest naval unit in the game is the Byzantine fleet, and its power represents primarily the use of greek fire as a weapon of war, an invention that made the Byzantine fleet virtually undefeatable. It can be destroyed in battle, and CAN then be rebuilt, though at a staggering cost. It does go obsolete and is by far the most expensive item in the scenario. The Peasant [Settler] is both weaker on defense and more expensive to produce than normal. The Turk civ has several types of cavalry, all delivered by events. The Turks start the scenario with 2 Khazar Horde units. These are not nearly as powerful as host units, but are stronger than normal cavalry. Later, they receive 3 Cumans units, which are stronger than the Khazars, but not as powerful as full host-sized units. Sometime after turn 50, 2 Seljuk Horde units appear on the far eastern edge of the map. These units are actually more powerful than typical host units, yet not impossible to defeat. The Warriors [barbarians] use, have, and receive a number of unit types, all over the map, each having its own characteristics. For the most part, the movable Warrior units will represent not much more than a nuisance, attacking trade and settler units, with 1 exception; the Mongol Touman. This unit is FAR more powerful than any other unit in the game, and it moves faster too. It IS a super-unit, and at least two will appear during the last quarter century (50 turns) of the game. It is very likely that nothing will stand against them, and they CAN, (AI willing), carve out a substantial empire very rapidly, and historically, this is precisely what occurred. The Byzantines have been given a unit called the Golden Horn w/high defense and set on the eastern side of the Hellespont. Even if, as happened historically, the Byzantines lose the ability to defend Asia Minor, this unit effectively prevents total disaster. It is, however, homed to Constantinople, and if the city falls to an attack from the landward side, the Golden Horn unit will disappear. The Turks also have the services of the notorious Assassins of Alamaut, in Hyrcania. The Assassins are air units with a range of 1, like [fighters], and will only appear at the Assassin's Castle square. There are curious tales, rumors, and legends that tell of Prester John, yet some say they are only mirages or mists out of the east.

III. GOVERNMENTS

There is no government switching in this scenario, except at a single point; when a civ acquires The Feudal State tech [The Republic]. When that happens, a player is faced with the only government decision to make in the game; stage a "Baron's rebellion" and accept the new government form or not? If the Barons rebel, it will mean a significant boost in income and research after things return to normal, but will create continuing interference from "The Nobility" in your warmaking prerogatives. The Turks start the game in [Fundamentalism], which is reduced in its support function to 4 units before support, but otherwise unchanged. The Byzantines start the game in [Communism], which also has lowered support to 2, and in addition has a 12-square "distance from palace" setting that makes corruption appear in all cities, even Constantinople. The Fatamids and Europeans all start the scenario in [Monarchy] which is a "no/no" tech (as are [Communism] & [Fundamentalism]), so can't be traded. [Democracy] is not in this scenario.

IV. WONDERS

Here is a list describing the Wonders in the scenario. "Start" indicates that the wonder is 
placed at the start of the scenario and location. Only a few of these go obsolete during the game. Consult the pedia to see which ones do and when. The wonders that can be built during the game usually have higher production costs than the default.

Fatamid Caliphate .   .   .   .   Pyramids .  .  .  .  .  .  . Cairo, start
Byzantine Navy .   .   .   .   .   Lighthouse .  .  .  .  .  . Constantinople, start
Byzantine Diplomacy .  .  .  .  .Marco Polo .  .  .  .  .  . Constantinople, start
Great Council .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Michaelangelo .  .  .  .  .Nicaea, start                                
Holy City .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Hanging Gardens .  .  . .Edessa, start
The True Cross .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Cure for Cancer .  .   .  .Aleppo, start 
Charts and Maps .  .  .  .  .  .  .Apollo .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Available to build +
Classical Texts .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Darwin .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Available to build +
Feudal State .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Women's .  .  .  .  .  .  . Available to build ++
Doge .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Eiffel Tower .  .  .  .  .  .Venice, start
Militarist Heritage .  .  .  .  .  . Sun Tzu .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Available to build ++
Regional Unity.  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Statue .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Available to build +
Religious Power .  .  .  .  .  .  . UN .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Available to build +
Levant Trade .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Colossus .  .  .  .  .  .  . Venice, start
Sea Power.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Magellan .  .  .  .  .  .  . Available to build + 
The African Gold Trade .  .  .  . KingRichard .  .  .  .  .  .Sjilmasa, start
The Arsenal .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Newton's .  .  .  .  .  .  .Venice, start
The Byzantine Empire.  .  .  .  . Shakespeare .  .  .  .  . Constantinople, start    
The Holy Roman Empire .  .  .  .Copernicus .  .  .  .  .  . Mainz, start
The Holy Sepulchre .  .  .  .  .  . Bach .  .  .  .   .  .  .  .  Jerusalem, start
Control of Trade .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Adam Smith .  .  .  .  .  Available to build +

V. IMPROVEMENTS

Some things have been renamed, but a good number left unchanged. Here is a list. The 1st column is the new name for the improvement, the 2nd column is the default name for the improvement, and the 3rd column is the prerequisite tech to build the improvement. A "+" sign at the end of the 3rd column indicates that the improvement is now more expensive to build or to maintain or both. A "-" sign indicates that the improvement is now cheaper to build or maintain or both. Consult the pedia for details.

Palace .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . Palace .  .   .   .   .  .   .  Construction
Fiefdom  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  Barracks .   .   .   .   .   .  None
Church .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .Temple .   .   .   .   .   .  . Christianity -
Cathedral .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .Cathedral .   .   .   .   .   . The Church -
Monastery .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   University .   .   .   .   .   . Benedictine Reform +
Scholars .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  Library .   .   .   .   .   .   . Scholasticism
Granary .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Granary.   .   .   .   .   .   . None
Garrison .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  Police Station .   .   .   .  . Regional Feudalism +
Water supply .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Aquaduct .   .   .   .   .   .  Construction -
Emporia .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Bank .   .   .   .   .   .   .  . Regional Trade +
Magistrate .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Courthouse .   .   .   .   .   Legal Reform -
City Walls .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   City Walls .   .   .   .   .   . Construction* +
Emporia .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Market Place .   .   .   .   . Mediterranean Trade 
Bank .   .   .   .   .   .                   Stock Market .   .   .   .   . Banking 
Mosque .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    Colusseum .   .   .   .   .   None**
Sewer System .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Sewer System .   .   .   .   Engineering
Harbor .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . Harbor .   .   .   .   .   .   . Seafaring
Tenant Farmland .   .   .   .   .   .   Supermarket .   .   .   .   . Tenantry
Toll Roads & Bridges .   .   .   .   .  Superhighways .   .   .   .  Trade
Shipyard .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   Port Facility  .   .   .   .   . Shipbuilding
(Excessive Taxes) .   .   .   .   .   .  (Capitalization) .   .   .   . None

*In this scenario, City Walls have a maintenance of 1 gold! They CAN vanish, if not paid for. [Fortresses]/Castles built ouside cities cannot be constructed until the Castle Building tech is acquired.
**The Mosque [Colusseum] has no preq and cannot be built. Even so, almost every Muslim city contains one at the start of the game. If these are destroyed by conquest, the cities will become very much more difficult to control. This is intended to reflect the limits of Islam's cultural reach at this time; it was a time of retreat for the faithful.

VI. STRATEGY

1. Byzantines

This scenario is very much about the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire during the period. This period really marks the point at which Byzantium could have risen or fell, as it did historically. The Empire in the year 1000 AD was experiencing a revanche that took imperial forces into Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, Cilicia, and through the gates of Antioch itself. The stunning debacle at Manzikert took the most valuable and productive lands of Asia Minor out of the imperial domain forever, killed an Emperor, and emptied the treasury. But it COULD have gone very differently. Historians have postulated that had Basil II been in command on that day, victory would have been unquestionable and the whole history of the east would have been altered by the outcome. But Basil died unexpectedly, his policies were abandoned by successors, and the Empire was left in the aftermath with a resource base insufficient to re-conquer the lost provinces. The Greeks start with 34 cities, by far the most. The Greeks have a single host unit at start, and no more. If lost, the game can become much more difficult. You can easily face a "Manzikert" if incautious. Foot units are delivered via event at random intervals at Constantinople, and these units must be used agressively to occupy cities seized by your main army, augmented by the production of Cataphracts, Light Horse, and the hiring of mercenaries. The first priority is the reduction of the Bulgarian Empire which sits virtually on the Byzantine doorstep. Historically, this is what the Byzantine emperor, Basil II "Bulgarslayer" actually did. Given a little preparation and a rapid offensive, the cities in the balkans can be occupied on an historical timetable. See if you can do better than Basil. On the eastern frontier, there are 3 main enemies; the Fatamids, the Turks, and the Warriors [barbarians]. Usually the first foe to appear is the Fatamid host, and it will likely be on the eastern border sometime soon after the start. If the Fatamid Host can be eliminated early, the Levant will be easy to conquer. The Seljuk units will begin appearing around turn 40, and these units are very dangerous. In the hands of a human, the Turks will be MUCH more danerous. The Warriors will be the sea raiders, who are simply not strong enough to take defended cities, and the Turkomans, who appear very often on the eastern side of the map in sparsely occupied areas, and who ARE sometimes strong enough to seize towns. The other "front" that the Byzantines must consider is the naval situation, though here the Byzantine Fleet gives an overwhelming advantage, even though it can't be everywhere at once. An event will eventually obsolete the Byzantine Fleet wonder, however, which will mean that ships will be vulnerable to "storms" as well as lose a movement point. More importantly, this event will obsolete the Byzantine Fleet unit. It is stunningly difficult to replace if lost, but it can be done. Once the Bulgar empire is conquered, it's advisable to attempt the placement of new cities in Wallachia, Moldavia, and the Black Sea region, though there will be the potential for conflict in this region with both Germans and Turks, and continuing attacks by the Pechenegs. As the Byzantine player, the only military units you can build are the Cataphracts and Light Horse, and after some tech research, the siege units. The Emissary unit, which has diplomatic abilities, is delivered very seldom via events, and is intended to be used to BRIBE Warrior [barbarian] units. This should be a primary aim of Greek diplomacy; to find and recruit new regiments for the army. Your military means are limited, you are surrounded by rapacious conquerors, and any new recruits will be welcomed. The Greek mobile infantry units, delivered only by events, are only 3 DEFENSE. Because of the paucity and inferiority of units, the lack of natural boundaries, and the potential enemies which sourround them, the Greeks must be cautious. This was precisely the historical outlook of Greek forces during the period and is how the scenario is designed to function.

2. Fatamids

The Fatamids were leaders of a political/religious movement that originated in Tunisia, and repeatedly campaigned against Abbasid forces in Egypt. They believed the founder of the dynasty was the "Mahdi" (savior in Arabic), and their chosen task was to battle to the center of the Arabic world empire, Baghdad, the seat of the Abbasid Caliph. The essential issue was doctrinal, the centuries-old schism between Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. The idea was to seize Egpyt and use its resources to continue the march on Baghdad. Historically, the dynasty stalled in Egypt, began to hire slave soldiers, the Memluks, and eventually fell to the generals of these very same troops, after having been robbed of forward momentum by the crusaders, the Turks, and the Ayubids. The Fatamid Empire looks powerful at the start of the scenario. It is in Monarchy, has a healthy treasury, and 22 cities. Like the Greeks, the Fatamids have only 1 host unit at start, but can only build Light Horse, and with tech research, the siege units. The Fatamids do receive another Host unit via an event in the first half of the 12th century near Mosul. This is to represent the emergence of Zengi esh Shami, the Emir of Mosul, who, after the decline of the Fatamid Caliphate and the Seljuk Sultanate, became the primary empire builder in the middle east. Unlike the Greeks, the Fatamids receive no foot units via events and their empire is effectively separated by sea into 2 distinct halves. The western half, the Mahgreb region, has a number of cities, but will be attacked constantly both by Warrior Beduin Nomad units from the desert (intended to represent Berber nomads) and the much more powerful Almoravids and Almohades units. These latter units are host strength, and will conquer small empires by taking Fatamid cities. The eastern half of the Fatamid empire is also concentrated in two areas; Egypt and the Levant. These areas are very vulnerable, especially the levant, as there are numerous event incentives for the European players to take cities there. There is also constant raiding of both Turkoman and Beduin Nomad units. Though these Warrior units are not usually strong enough to take defended cities, improving terrain and moving trade goods through these areas will always be dangerous. The role of the Fatamid Empire in this scenario is to decline, and this civ is set up to achieve that goal. Playing it will be difficult, even in solo play, and in a multi-player game, odds are that the Fatamid position will be overwhelmed at about the time that the crusades historically occurred. 

3. Franks

The Frankish player has two primary advantages; they start the game with a legion of Peasants and a favored geographical position. The peasants can begin improving terrain immediately, which will add both wealth and population to a country that is already large. The Peasant units represent a population boom following the warming trend of the 8th-10th centuries. This is the era of the Franks and Vikings. Given a century of long summers, northern Europe produced large numbers of soldiers. There are 11 good cities that will grow fast. If the Franks can maintain peace with both the Italians and Spanish, they can then focus on the Germans, who are usually more of a threat. Burgundy is the obvious first area of conquest, but the Franks should allow their initial host unit to acquire veteran status by attacking Brittany prior to assaulting the strong Burgundian defending units. The Franks can gain 3 more host units in the scenario by taking specified cities. This is a strong position to play, can be used flexibly, and will grow quickly, though sea transport will be a weakness throughout the game. 

4. Spanish

The Spanish player position is compact and powerful. With only 5 cities, the obvious imperative here is to undertake the reconquest of Iberia from the infidels. There are a number of Warrior cities occupied by Omayyad Emirates units and Warrior Light Horse units appear in the south periodically. Two additional host units can be acquired by seizing specified cities, and these units can provide the strength necessary to conquer an empire. The difficulties in consolidating this conquest are that successive Berber host units will appear in Spain at various times in the scenario and can present a formidable challenge to the unprepared. 

5. German

The German player has 11 cities, like the Franks, but has space in the east to expand. The open plains of the ukraine are inviting, but Pecheneg bands and even Khazar and later Cuman hostility make this region difficult to colonize. This civ can acquire 2 more host units by taking specified cities, and if it can utilize this force, can move aggressively in any direction. Historically, the German Emperors of this era fought against France, the Italians, the slavs, the pechenegs, as well as making the occasional foray into crusading. The Holy Roman Empire [Copernicus] wonder in Mainz will make tech gain easier and represents the power of the German church to preserve/rediscover the remnants of classical culture and will offset the poor trading geograhy of this civ. Hungary is the obvious area for conquest, and, in general, exploration and settlement is a good option for this civ. This was a period of intermittent German movement eastward, and towns like Hermanstadt in Transylvania were built by German immigrants during these centuries. 

6. Italian

The Italian player is in the very center of the map and therefore surrounded by potential enemies, but this does have several advantages. There is a large merchant fleet, a relatively good geographic position, and Venice contains 3 Wonders. The Levant Trade [Colossus] will make this city a profitable place to build revenue and technology improvements, the Arsenal [Newtwon] will make placing these improvements even more worthwhile and the Doge [Eiffel Tower], will slowly but constantly improve diplomatic relationships. The Italian civ should use its Host unit to consolidate the penninsula, pushing the Byzantines and Fatamids out of Apulia and Sicily respectively. If the Byzantines are allowed to declare war first, it will make diplomacy easier after the peace. It's important to remember that the empires are in a tech race, and that the Italian civ, while strong in tech gain, is weak in number of cities. Trade, and the tech gain that comes with it, will make this civ playable and competitive. The Italian civ has only one Host unit and can receive only 1 more via an event. It can also receive a Warship via event. The Italian Host units can make amphibious attacks. The most obviously valuable wonders to build are Sea Power and Control of Trade. The best strategy is to move in the wake of stronger empire builders and provoke or intrigue attacks on the AI Byzantines and Fatamids, while watching the other Europeans warily. Cagliari in Sardinia is building a Peasant, if you change this, you won't be able to change it back until you've acquired the Feudal Obligations tech. This handy source of peasants represents the Islanders' repopulation efforts during the period.

7. Turks

The Turkish civ is a combination of 3 Turkic groups; the Khazars, the Cumans, and the Seljuks. The Khazar empire's primary purpose should be to build the Military Heritage [Darwin] wonder, then contest the steppe with Germans and Pechenegs. The Sejuk Horde units will appear around turn 50, and these units can be used aggressively, yet carefully, to conquer a large empire. Used well, nothing in the middle east can stand against these units and once they are in the game the decision the Turkish player faces is where to start the campaigns? the caucasus? the Levant? or attack directly into the heart of Asia Minor? The Turks can easily conquer a Seljuk-sized empire in the historical timeframe of the scenario, and have fun doing it. Whenever the Turks conquer cities in Iran or Iraq, an event will create a foot unit in the city. This was done primarily for the benefit of the AI, but works well for human players too. Given a couple of decades, a human player can conquer a compact, sizable Seljuk empire within the historical timeframe, ready to administer or take to war.  Around turn 40 the Cumans units begin to appear in Tana or thereabouts. These units are more powerful than the Khazar units, and combined with them and made veterans in border skirmishes, they are the core of a strong power on the southern steppe. Technology will always be a problem with this civ, but the object of the game isn't to gain technology, but take and hold cities.  

VI. VICTORY

Victory in this scenario is very simple. It is measured in the number of cities held at the end of the scenario, in the year of Our Lord 1250 Anno Domini. The largest realm is VICTOR. In case of a tie, the highest quantity of wealth decides. In case of a tie there (Highly unlikely but possible), it is the realm with the most "happy" (light blue & gold) townsmen in their realm. Important note; the only cities that COUNT TOWARD VICTORY are the ones that were located ON THE MAP AT START. You can build more cities, but the new ones don't count. If a city is destroyed,  however, and a player rebuilds it with the same name, it DOES count. Original cities with changed names DO COUNT.

VII. SOLO and MULTI-PLAY

This scenario is optimized for multi-play, that is, games with more than 1 human player. The strategies that can be brought to this scenario's situation are numerous and colorful. This scen CAN be played solo, HOWEVER: 1.) The Crusades won't happen, 2.) If you're not playing them, the Fatamids and/or Byzantines can run away with the game. If you're playing the Turks, you can conquer a vast empire and run away with the game, but if the AI is playing them, they'll put in a much less effective performance, occupying a minor area in the transcaspian region and in western Persia, only becoming another factor in the conquest of Armenian and Georgian cities. The Great Traveller units should only be appearing very, VERY occasionally, with entire games going by without ever seeing one, for example. But if a civ receives one and is a human player, it becomes more dangerous and can bribe cities and units. The Byzantine player will receive its own, less effective Emissary unit on a more generous schedule. SEE the next section; HOUSE RULES too.

VIII. "HOUSE" RULES

Whether playing solo or multi, all of these rules should be observed in order to make the scenario more enjoyable and accurate. Most of them apply to bribing barbarian units. House rule # 1; NO BRIBING the Almoravids/Almohades. If a bribing opportunity appears when these units are poised to march into a city, you CANNOT bribe them either. These are armies of the faithful, and cannot be bought. House rule # 2; NO BRIBING the Mongols, either units or from taking cities. Doing so will simply ruin the challenge of the scenario. House rule # 3; You MAY bribe Turkomans, Pechenegs, and Vikings, hiring them on as mercenaries, and MAY bribe Vikings or Pechenegs not to seize a defenseless city, but MAY NOT bribe the Turkomans  NOT to seize a city. (Bribing a player civs units is perfectly acceptable). House rule # 4; If you have the Regional Unity [SoL] wonder, you cannot use it to convert to any other form of government except The Feudal State [The Republic].

IX. THE TUTORIAL

It works. Try it. It adds a little something to the scenario. The messages might even be amusing on occasion.

X. CREDITS

Credit should go to the creators of many superlative graphics. The HOST of contributions of Gareth Burch (Fairline) are welcome, outstanding in quality, and go far towards making this scenario novel and accurate in its graphic depictions. I also must credit Bernd Brosing for a HOST of spectacularly good graphics of all types. Some of Bernd's graphics come from his unit sets and some from his scenarios CROSS and CRESCENTand IMPERIUM ROMANUM. All the graphics used in the scenario that have identification marks have been left undisturbed. If you're curious, examine the files. I only opt for the best work and the good thing about that is that there is an abundance of superior work available. I found several good icon graphics in John Ellis' COLONIES IV. Henrik Lohmander is the undoubted master of icon graphics and I found great icons in several of his scenarios, including HISTORIBUS EUROPAE and CAROLUS GUSTAVUS REAGIS [sic,lol]. Some remarkable ideas concerning icons, terrain, and graphics came from the MEDITERA scenario. Considerable credit goes to Masis Panos, who I had the opportunity to converse with some time ago. He created some very appropriate graphics for his scenarios, AGE of ALEXIUS and ARTURIUS, which I used freely, with his permission. I've spotted and used various terrain & icon graphics from many places--if I've used something of yours without giving due credit, contact me and I'll be happy to alter this file accordingly to assign appropriate credit. Several units graphics were offered by Tanelorn, and fit seamlessly into the unit mix. Special thanks to Chris Hudzieczko for the exemplary splash panel. Every splash panel should be that good. Thanx to Morten Blaabjerg for a feudal city graphic (slightly modified) and the ruin graphic that underlays many of the cities. 